Gaming + Photo Editing + Web Surf --PC

[Evil Bill]

I am looking to replace my current PC with a new build and hope to try overclocking the cpu. I have a list of parts below and would like some advice on the choices. The new machine will be used for gaming, photo editing, online communications and surfing the Web. Much of these uses are simultaneous. It is not unusual to have a game up while the photo editor is either uploading photos or processing them and having firefox up as well with a dozen tabs open.


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP

BUDGET RANGE: Figured about $2500 Not looking to spend more than that.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Photo editing, web surf and online communication

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Have keyboard, mouse, 2 monitors: 1 x Dell 2407WFP + 1 x Dell 2408WFP both 1900x1200, speakers, OS Win 7x64 Professional, WD640BLack HD + raid HD's

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Amazon.com or newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES - What I have put together for a build at this time:

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

XFX ATI Radeon HD 5970 2 GB DDR5 PCIE2.0 X 16 HDMI/2DVI Video Card HD597ACNB9 (can't get link to work)

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Antec P193 Gunmetal Gray Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

LG Black 10X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk SATA Model WH10LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM

Uncertainty:

CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler

OR

Noctua 6 Dual Heatpipe with 140mm/120mm Dual SSO Bearing Fans CPU Cooler NH-D14 (no link success sry)

Motherboard: I have previously used EVGA Nvidia based boards but have replaced every one I have used in a system at least once. I am looking for a board that I can over clock a bit w/o getting bogged down in crappy menus or poor documentation, but that has plenty of connections for USB, easy to work with and stable. I am open to suggestion here.

I had looked at:

ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard The new USB and SATA are not really important and was disappointed with the shortage of USB connections on it.

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard I had read good reviews about this board.

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard


OVERCLOCKING: Yes, would like to overclock the CPU. Nothing crazy just get a bit more bang for the buck without burning it up.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No not at this time.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 2 x 1920x1200


Hope this covers it. Thank you in advance for all constructive comments and advice.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Speedy, cool and quiet PC

 

[MadAdmiral]

Have you already bought the first set of parts? I'm asking because there are minor errors there. I'll just list out everything I would buy with your budget...


CPU/Mobo: i7-930 and Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R $485. The 930 is an updated version of the 920 and is definitely superior for basically the same price. The board is easily one of the best (not to mention cheapest).
RAM: G.Skill Trident 3x2 GB 2000 mhz CAS Latency 9 $190 after rebate. Corsair sticks are overpriced. These G.Skill will be faster with tighter timings, not to mention cheaper.
GPU: HD 5970 $700 (or any 5970)
SSD: 2x Intel X25-M 80 GB $400. Use these in RAID 0 as your boot drive. Any build with your budget would be missing something without a SSD.
PSU: Cosair 850W Modular 80+ Silver $150 after rebate. While a good unit, 750W is simply not enough to want to add a second 5970 down the road. You'll want a little more power.
Case: HAF 922 $90. If you want to save some money. Also, the HAF is easily one of the best case ever made.
Optical: Cheap SATA DVD burner $20. BluRay is a waste of money for PCs right now. Leave it out until there's an actual application that's meaningful to computers.
HSF: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B $85 (with 2 fans). The Corsair H50 isn't highly though of. This is the best air cooling HS out there.

Total: $2,114.

 

[Evil Bill]

No nothing purchased yet other than parts not required. Thank you very much for the fast response and recommendations!

 

[Evil Bill]

Question on the Intel SSD's is there an advantage to using the 2 x 80Gb in Raid rather than the 160Gb version?

 

[shovenose]

a better cpu cooler for a few bucks more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018&Tpk=noctua%20nh-d14

 

[MadAdmiral]

The two 80 GB in RAID 0 would be massively faster. RAID 9 is a setup option that treats two separate drives a single larger one, but uses both drives read/write speeds together to create faster speeds.

 

[Evil Bill]

Have you already bought the first set of parts? I'm asking because there are minor errors there. I'll just list out everything I would buy with your budget...


CPU/Mobo: i7-930 and Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R $485. The 930 is an updated version of the 920 and is definitely superior for basically the same price. The board is easily one of the best (not to mention cheapest).
RAM: G.Skill Trident 3x2 GB 2000 mhz CAS Latency 9 $190 after rebate. Corsair sticks are overpriced. These G.Skill will be faster with tighter timings, not to mention cheaper.
GPU: HD 5970 $700 (or any 5970)
SSD: 2x Intel X25-M 80 GB $400. Use these in RAID 0 as your boot drive. Any build with your budget would be missing something without a SSD.
PSU: Cosair 850W Modular 80+ Silver $150 after rebate. While a good unit, 750W is simply not enough to want to add a second 5970 down the road. You'll want a little more power.
Case: HAF 922 $90. If you want to save some money. Also, the HAF is easily one of the best case ever made.
Optical: Cheap SATA DVD burner $20. BluRay is a waste of money for PCs right now. Leave it out until there's an actual application that's meaningful to computers.
HSF: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B $85 (with 2 fans). The Corsair H50 isn't highly though of. This is the best air cooling HS out there.

Total: $2,114.

Thank you for the great suggestions! I ended up going with your recommended CPU and Mobo combo, PSU, Skipping the SSD drives (for me I just don't see the bang for the buck yet..), and switching cases to the COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KXN1-GP Black Steel and the Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler .

Thanks again for the help. Can't wait to get this thing put together and put it work.

 

[Evil Bill]

Best answer selected by Evil Bill.